


National Jelly Bean Day

by thestanceyg



Series: Darcy Lewis April Challenge [22]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, High School AU, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3798631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miss Lewis challenges her students to propose a project that would change the school, and one group's proposal is very personal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	National Jelly Bean Day

**Author's Note:**

> Day 22
> 
> Holiday: National Jelly Bean Day  
> Prompt: we’re both high school teachers and my students ship us but I won’t let them tell you

“Alright guys,” Darcy said, “we have five minutes left.  Your homework is to finish your project proposal for next class.  I will not be accepting excuses about your printer not working or your internet being down or whatever other thing you think will buy you more time.  Email it to me, hand write it, tweet it at me all night, send me a carrier pigeon.  Do what it takes to get that proposal to me.”  Darcy noticed a hand up in the back.  “Yes Skye?”

“So this can be literally anything we think would improve the school, right?  My group almost done with our proposal, but I don’t want our work to be for nothing.”

“If it would honestly improve the school, then yes.  I want projects that are crazy and out there.  I’m sick of petitions to change the lunches.  Give me something I’ve never seen before.”

“A-OK Miss L.  We totally have that covered.”

“Then finish that proposal up and get it to me!”

“And do you mean that we can turn it in to you any way possible?”

“Yes.  I don’t want excuses, I want projects.”

Skye looked at her group in a way that slightly concerned Darcy, but she shrugged it off.  Skye’s group always seemed to come up with inventive projects, so she assumed she just was nonverbally telling them that they were going to go big.  She loved it when kids did that.

Of course, she was rethinking that love when their project was turned in.  She wasn’t sure what the group had said to Stark to get him to do this, but she had a feeling he was just as clueless as she was.

“Lewis!” Stark called down the hallway, loud enough that several students turned.

“What?” She yelled back, not moving from the doorway she was leaning in.

He swaggered down the hall to her. “Simmons asked me to give this to you,” he said, handing her a manilla envelope with a red “Top Secret” stamp on it.  She took the envelope and laughed.

“This must be her group’s project proposal.”

“Oh really?” He asked, dirty smirk covering his face.  “Maybe I could propose something to you?” He gave a wink.

Darcy rolled her eyes.  “In your dreams, science boy.  Now run along.  I’m sure you have a lab to blow up.”  

He walked off and wiggled his butt a bit, then called over his shoulder, “Just food for thought!”

Darcy made a gagging noise and went back in her classroom.

***

That night, Darcy was looking over the proposals.  She had a decent number of the same boring topics, a few very clever ideas, and one project that baffled her.  Skye, Leo, and Jemma had proposed that school climate would be greatly improved if she and Tony Stark would start dating.  The proposal was carefully and professionally done.  They even had a literature review that included, among other things, ten tumblr posts about the very subject.  Apparently Skye’s group wasn’t the only one that shipped her with Tony.  Also, according to the review, they had actually only included a sampling of the posts they found online, which was very curious.

Darcy fired up her computer and decided to do some research herself.  It wouldn’t be hard.  Apparently they had a tag.  (IronTaser?  Really?)  While she waited for everything to load (apparently there were gifs?), she contemplated how many kids would have a tumblr, and how many of them would actually care about this topic.  She estimated maybe ten or twenty posts total, so she was not prepared for the three hundred plus that popped up.

“Jesus,” she muttered, “these kids think way too much about their teachers.”

After spending nearly an hour reading everything there was, Darcy had to actually consider the project.  She had tallied over fifty usernames that had commented or reblogged the posts, and that didn’t even include the likes.  In a school of 1000, that was actually a decent amount.  She had planned on laughing at the group and telling them matchmaking wasn’t a school improvement project, but now she wasn’t so sure.

She closed all the open tabs.  She needed to think about this.

***

The next morning brought Stark back to her classroom.  School hadn’t started yet, and she was in the front of the room, writing the agenda for the day on the board.

“Your butt wiggles when you write,” Tony said, startling Darcy.

“Hello, Stark,” she said once her heart calmed down,  “What can I do for you today?”

He held out a clear bag full of jelly beans and a giant bow.  “Fitz asked me to give this to you.  Told me it was a bribe to approve their project.”

Darcy took the bag and opened it, popping a jelly bean in her mouth.  “They really did their bribery homework.  Buttered Popcorn.  My favorite.”  She held out the bag.  “Want one?”

“That is utterly disgusting, and yes,” he said taking one.

Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy saw Skye peeking around her door and into the room, wide smile on her face.  Darcy waved her off.

“So, what’s this project they are so concerned about?”

“Oh,” Darcy stalled, “just my usual school improvement project.”

“They must really be afraid you’ll say no if they’re trying to bribe you.”

“As they should be,” Darcy said a little loudly, hoping Skye was still in the hall and heard that.

“What’s their project?”

Darcy froze, unsure how to answer without giving it away. “Ummm,” she stammered, “it’s a personnel issue.”

“They probably want more PhDs on staff.  Someone a bit more their speed,” he said shrugging.  “I’ve gotta get to class.  We’re playing with fire today.”

“You and me both,” Darcy muttered.

“Later, Lewis.”

“Bye Stark.”

Skye, Leo, and Jemma all poured into the classroom as soon as Tony left.

“So?” Skye asked, getting straight to the point.

Darcy sighed.  “Approved on one condition-you can’t tell Stark.”

The group squealed.  “It’s a deal,” said Skye.

**Author's Note:**

> I was a teacher for 10 years, half of them in a high school. My very first job (in a middle school) the kids shipped me with the other English teacher and kept trying to get us together. They literally staged a fight one time trying to get us to break it up together. I'm not really sure what that was supposed to accomplish.
> 
> Later, my husband was a school nurse at one school and I taught at another. I didn't change my name when we married, so it was his dream that someday we would work at the same school. He wanted to come by my room and hit on me and offer to give me a ride home or take me to dinner in front of students to see what kind of gossip happened.


End file.
